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Press Release Headlines
5/23/2001
Kelp Forest Coalition Calls for Catalina Island State Marine Park
The Kelp Forest Coalition
SANTA ANA, Calif., May 21 /PRNewswire/ -- The Kelp Forest Coalition, an
Orange County-based environmental group, is calling for the waters around
Catalina Island to be designated as a State Marine Park. Executive Director
Stephen G. Benavides submitted the request in a fifteen page proposal to the
California Department of Fish and Game's Marine Life Protection Act
evaluation
team.
In calling for the State Marine Park, Benavides said, "Catalina Island
is
California's only island-based economy. The destiny of Catalina belongs in
the hands of the people that live there. It's time that its waters were
preserved and managed for their recreational value alone and that commercial
fishing leave and go elsewhere.
"By creating the Santa Catalina Island State Marine Park commercial
fishing would be banned within three miles of the island. Within that
boundary, a west end no-take reserve would be created. The Kelp Forest
Coalition's proposal would also fund an island-based management authority
similar to those established in other high-tourism fishing and diving
destinations.
"We are concerned that policy makers have been so busy worrying about
the
privileges of a tiny group of high-impact commercial fishermen that the real
stakeholders have been missed. Over one million visitors come through the
port at Avalon every year. In terms of passenger ship traffic, Avalon ranks
next to the Port of Los Angeles and could be considered the second largest
passenger port on the West Coast. Probably hundreds of thousands more visit
via diving and fishing boats. This reality puts an entirely different spin
on
who the real 'commercial interests' are when crafting management policies
for
Catalina Island," said Benavides.
Their plan "shares the pain" by protecting 23% of the island from
extractive recreational use as well. Setting aside a large area of the
island
as a no-take reserve creates an incubator for nearshore restoration while
preserving its main use and value as a tourism destination.
A copy of the Kelp Forest Coalition's plan may be viewed or downloaded
in
pdf format at www.kelpforestcoalition.org.
The Kelp Forest Coalition is a non-profit 501.C (3) organization.
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